Story By: Erin Zollars
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Washington, D.C–
There will always be some sort of rivalry in sports, but the Wizards and Celtics… well that’s not the first one that comes to mind, but tonight John Wall and his buddies dubbed this the funeral game after the heated exchanges in their last game. They wanted to lay that to rest and that they did tonight in D.C as they captured their 14th straight NBA leading home victory, 123-108.
“I wanted to win, man. I wanted to win bad,” Beal said. “Especially to keep our home streak going. Especially after the last game we played them. We had a little chip on our shoulder.”
John Wall added 27 points, and Markieff Morris had 19 points and 11 rebounds as the Wizards exacted some revenge after complaining of dirty play in two previous meetings with the Celtics.
The second one, a 117-108 Celtics home win, featured five technical fouls and ended with Wall and Boston’s Jae Crowder nearly setting off a brawl.
That prompted the Wizards to show up to Verizon Center on Tuesday wearing all-black, funeral-themed clothing.
Wall’s apparel consisted of a designer T-shirt beneath a varsity-style jacket as he arrived.
Beal, who created the idea, arrived in an oversized black winter trenchcoat, complete with hood and matching scarf. He would later have his best offensive night since that game in Boston.
“We just wanted to have fun, man,” he insisted afterward. “That’s all we were doing. Nothing personal. Of course it was a subliminal (message), but we were just having fun at the end of the day.”
After the game the focus was on some of the Celtics players who were involved in the altercation.
“They got whatever they wanted on their offensive end,” said Crowder, who insisted the game took no extra significance for the Celtics.
“I don’t think it’s a rivalry,” He added. “They won the game tonight. Next question.”
